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Explore the Great Pyramid and SOLVE the Riddle of the Sphinx!

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New Exciting Stretch Goal!

If the current stretch goal of $10,000 is met, we will create the mysterious Sphinx’s “Tail Tunnel” & secret chamber in the game for you to unearth and explore on your own! This new area of discovery will be woven into the current historical-fiction storyline of ROTS Awakening.

Join The Expedition!

We need your support to make Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening a success! Join us as we unearth the game development assets, re-render, and compile a new HD version for iPhone, iPad, Desktop and more platforms!

Violent sand storms have once again covered most of the Sphinx and Great Pyramids...

After years of digging, noted archaeologist Sir Gil Blythe Geoffreys uncovers a secret chamber overlooked for centuries. Geoffreys' first and only trip reveals an ancient, brittle papyrus scroll. After rough translation, he realizes he's found the 'Rosetta Stone' of the Sphinx.

Finally, Gil thought, the Riddle of the Sphinx... SOLVED!

Sealed with a thick resin, the scroll bears an indiscernible hieroglyph. Unfortunately, after breaking the scroll's seal and deciphering it's mysterious contents, Geoffreys realizes he's unleashed an ancient curse; shrouding those who fail to heed its warning in certain death. Realizing he is doomed, Geoffreys sends for you, his closest friend and colleague.

Now, with the help of Gil's carefully hidden notes and translation of the scroll, it's up to you to solve the Riddle. However... the scroll has dubiously disappeared.

Sir Geoffreys' ever-greedy colleagues surmised that he discovered a profitable find, and, not trusting one another, they individually rifled through Gil's tent, searching in vain for the scroll. What has happened to the tattered scroll?

With no scroll, no translation and no clue, each agrees to "help" the other locate Gil's newly discovered secret chamber. Slowly, they disappear into the Great Pyramid.

Your first responsibility will be to locate the missing scroll. Then, using the tattered scroll with Gil's translation, you'll be on the way to solving the Riddle of the Sphinx!

Now, Explore the Great Pyramid and SOLVE the Riddle of the Sphinx in HD on Mobile & Desktop!

We are re-releasing the classic best-selling epic Egyptian adventure game, Riddle of the Sphinx, in high-definition (HD) on mobile and desktop platforms (Apple TV is planned, too)! This new enhanced edition is named Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening.

Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening on iPhone 7 Plus

How does Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening compare with the original?

The original Riddle of the Sphinx version was released in 2000 as a prerendered 3d point-n-click adventure game that takes the player through compelling archaeological ruins of ancient Egypt while uncovering clues answering age-old mysteries surrounding Giza Sphinx and Great Pyramid.

Hidden Chamber with Fate of Unfortunate Explorer

Now the experience is enhanced with HD graphics, newly rendered scenes using an advanced rendering engine, and a blazing fast game engine! Here's a glimpse of one of the chambers re-rendered in HD vs the original scene:

Comparison of River of Death Forechamber Puzzle Alcove

Another feature is that we are bringing Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening to not only desktop, but also mobile and even Apple TV!

The Story

You assume your role as a close friend and confidant of the infamous archaeologist Sir Gil Blythe Geoffreys as he excavates the site of the Giza Sphinx. The tale begins as Sir Geoffreys realizes he has unwittingly unleashed an ancient curse while translating a sacred scroll. Gil dies, and the scroll mysteriously disappears.

The player’s task is to locate the missing scroll, finish Sir Geoffrey’s translation, and solve an ancient Riddle perplexing mankind for ages!

Explore Hidden Corridors deep within the Great Pyramid

Queen's Chamber in Great Pyramid

Family-Friendly Adventure Game

Riddle of the Sphinx is a family-friendly adventure with intellectual challenges, featuring historically rich environments. The experience of exploring ROTS made lasting impact. Here are a few testimonials:

Father Son adventure of a lifetime!

Just how BIG is Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening?

Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening is HUGE! It really just keeps opening up into more and more environments and an incredible amount of exploration.

Explore around and IN the Great Sphinx

Explore INSIDE the Great Pyramid, including the existing Grand Gallery, King's Chamber, and Queen's Chamber.

These environments are exacting replicas of the real thing.

Over 50 million sq.ft. of detailed 3D environments

Over 100,000 sq.ft. of exploration

And the enhanced graphics of ROTS: The Awakening are much bigger, too. Look at the difference in size between the original 640x480 renderings vs the newly enhanced HD 1080p resolution.

Original resolution vs the new HD resolution

How accurate are the Sphinx & Great Pyramid models?

Riddle of the Sphinx was created after almost six years of detailed research, 3D modeling, and sculpting the perfect Egyptian adventure (for us, at least). The Sphinx and Great Pyramid were modeled to exacting detail (inside and out). About the only item we did NOT include is the graffiti defacing the Pyramid's walls.

Screenshot and 3d model of Grand Gallery

Screenshot and 3d model of King's Chamber in Great Pyramid

But there is MUCH more to just exploring the Sphinx and Great Pyramid in it's wonder and awe. We went further and turned all of the speculation of secret chambers and hidden tombs into an immersive reality and megalithic archaeological adventure game!

This is your opportunity to take your High-Definition tour of the last of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" and enter the rumored hidden chambers not accessible to the public.

Creating Riddle of the Sphinx

24 years ago (ROTS was 6 years in the making) we thought it would be so intriguing to be able to explore the Sphinx and Great Pyramid without any restrictions. We got excited about the possibility of discovering the oft-speculated hidden chambers, secret passageways, and lost treasures that many say exists deep within these enigmatic monuments.

After six years of building a virtual Giza Plateau, including replicas of the Sphinx, the Great Pyramid, and its many lost tombs and hidden chambers, Riddle of the Sphinx was unveiled and the response was amazing!

Major levels of Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening involve exploring real-life archaeological monuments and finds, then taking those discoveries to the next level. Plus we are adding gameplay to this version!

Thank You!

We appreciate your support and take your investment very seriously. Our goal is to present Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening in a better light than the original, with superior game play and graphics.

- Jeff, Karen, Charlie, and Marta

SPECIAL THANKS to Rand Miller at Cyan, makers of Myst, and Kevin Condie at Strata.

We were seriously stuck in opening some of the original models. While we had figured out how to run an emulated OS 9, and Strata's 3d Blitz, we were missing some critical plugins. One quick email to Rand and within minutes, he found and delivered the missing plugin. Rand, THANK YOU for your help and inspiration through MYST!

Then, when we got the old models opened in Blitz, and started to import them into Strata's newest 3d software, Strata Design 3D CX 8, we ran into a host of new issues. We called up Ken Bringhurst, CEO of Strata, and Kevin Condie, software engineer. They both quickly helped us solve critical issues, and Kevin took a bunch of time to personally walk us through the solutions. Kevin and Ken, THANK YOU so much for making Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening a reality!

Because of their help, the new renderings are using Strata Design CX's Radiosity renderer, which features more compelling lighting, shadows!

Risks and challenges

There are a number of challenges associated with re-creating a game that was originally released 18 years ago. One of the main challenges is taking the models from Strata Vision in Mac OS 9 (Yes, the original is really THAT old!) and converting it to Strata Design 3D CX 8, Strata's state-of-the-art 3D software. We are also reprogramming Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening from scratch to take advantage of Unity's game engine.

So... yeah, we have our work cut out for us. However, we feel the challenges we are facing today are very doable and nothing compared to what we faced when we developed the first game. Certain technological advances we take for granted now were once a pipe dream. And if we could overcome the challenges then, as an indie game studio, we can surely overcome these obstacles now, with so much more experience under our collective belts :)

In fact, we have already surpassed one of the greatest hurdles: recovering and converting the original models. This process is not only valuable for bringing ROTS: The Awakening in HD to mobile, desktop, and AppleTV, but in ultimately bringing the models into Unity for the up coming real-time 3d version. Your support will help us overcome these obstacles and release a truly awe-inspiring adventure experience!

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Great Pyramid Graffiti

Leave your "mark" in the Great Pyramid like bygone explorers before you! We sanitized the Great Pyramid in the original, but now we are allowing you to make it more realistic with your own personalized "graffiti" inscription.